Sholpan TAZABEK

Abstract: What does internationalization become once the era of mobility and rankings has passed? This panel argues that a defining feature of the post-internationalization age is a human turn inward and back: as the outward-facing model recedes, students and scholars increasingly seek to understand themselves, their roots, and the knowledge of their ancestors. AI makes this turn urgent rather than nostalgic. As machine-generated knowledge converges toward sameness and automates synthesis and translation, the humanities and the ancestral, oral, relational knowledge they carry become the irreplaceable human core of education. Humanities scholars are needed as co-creators of AI governance and as guardians of what remains essential to human flourishing. We explore this through Kazakh nomadic epistemologies, i.e. the dialogic aitys tradition, Tengrist non-anthropocentric cosmology, biy relational reasoning, treated as living curriculum rather than heritage, and set them alongside broader Asia-Pacific traditions that emphasize moral cultivation, relationality, stewardship, and dialogue as foundations of knowledge. Almaty Management University’s Tolyq Adam (“holisitc person”) program winning at THE Awards Asia 2026 grounds the discussion as a practical case. Participants will leave understanding why, in the AI age, returning to roots is a forward-looking strategy for the humanities and for international education. Learning objectives: - Articulate the post-internationalization shift: why, as mobility- and ranking-driven models recede, students and scholars increasingly turn toward self, roots, and ancestral knowledge, and what this means for international education. - Explain why AI’s homogenizing effects make the humanities and ancestral, oral, relational knowledge more central to education - Position humanities as the irreplaceable human core in the AI age - Identify practical ways to embed ancestral and local knowledge as living curriculum (two-way pedagogy) rather than as an add-on elective or cultural showcase - Evaluate how humanities scholars can act as co-creators of AI governance and as guardians of what AI cannot replicate, drawing on relational and non-anthropocentric frameworks beyond dominant Western models. - Apply lessons from a real foundation-program case (i.e. Tolyq Adam), including its challenges and limits, to participants’ own institutional and regional contexts. Target audience: Curriculum designers, academic leaders, faculty in the humanities and across disciplines; educators working on internationalization, AI in teaching and learning, and student formation; and anyone interested in ancestral knowledge, decolonizing the curriculum, and identity-centered models of international education

Abstract: AI is transforming how people learn, work, and solve problems. As AI increasingly generates content, analyzes information, and supports decision-making, universities face a fundamental question: What human capabilities will matter most in the future, and how should higher education cultivate them? This session explores how universities can prepare students not simply to use AI, but to lead in a world shaped by it. Drawing on perspectives from the United States, India, and Kazakhstan, presenters will examine whether traditional concepts of global citizenship remain sufficient and how institutions are emphasizing human capabilities such as ethical judgment, empathy, adaptability, creativity, and systems thinking. Special attention will be given to how institutions across the Asia-Pacific region are balancing technological innovation with human development, wellbeing, and global responsibility. Building on themes from Universities After AI: Voices from the Global Frontier (2026), the session considers how universities can develop human potential in an AI-enabled world. Examples will include work at Lehigh University's Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership, innovative studentcentered models from Ashoka and other Indian universities, and Almaty Management University's efforts to advance entrepreneurship, sustainability, and AI across Central Asia. Participants will consider how universities can place humanity at the center of education. Learning objectives: Participants will: - Examine how AI is reshaping expectations for graduate skills, employability, and leadership. - Explore the continuing relevance of global citizenship and its potential evolution in an AI-enabled world. - Identify human capabilities that universities should prioritize, including ethical judgment, intercultural competence, empathy, adaptability, creativity, and systems thinking. - Examine the unique role of international education, global learning, and cross-cultural experiences in developing the human capabilities needed to thrive in an increasingly technology-enabled world. - Review approaches from the United States, India, and Kazakhstan for integrating leadership development, global learning, and experiential education. - Consider practical strategies for designing curricula and student pathways that balance technological innovation with human development, wellbeing, and global responsibility. Target audience: Senior leaders, international educators, and academic innovators interested in the future of global citizenship, humancentered learning, student wellbeing, employability, and leadership development.